Standard Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter. Just the stuff I make up about him.
It happened without any warning. One minute Bellatrix Lestrange was ordering Wormtail to take he and Ron to the dungeon, the next he was standing looking down at fourteen dead and bloodied death eaters wondering what the hell just happened. He tried to go over it in his head. It didn't make any sense though…. They were going to torture Hermione. That's what did it.
Flashback
Ron was screaming. "Noooo. Don't you touch her. Don't touch her. Noooooo. Hermione!"
Harry's protective instincts were kicking into overdrive, and suddenly something just broke inside him. Like a dam had cracked and then given way. He could feel his magic rising up, but it was stronger and more primitive than anything he had ever felt. His body started tingling. It was incredibly uncomfortable. He felt like he was going to explode from the inside. All of the sudden that feeling changed and he felt himself growing and changing. He could feel something burning and pushing out from his back and his eyes coming into sharp focus. The room got smaller and time slowed down. His whole body seemed to be screaming at him to fight, to protect, to kill. It was primal and instinctive. He reached out with his…talon?...and tore Fenrir Greyback to pieces with two swipes. He bent down and snapped at Bellatrix with his beak. His mouth filled with blood and Bellatrix's body fell to the floor in two pieces. He could feel his magic go out and embrace Ron and Hermione like a skin tight shield. The death eaters literally moved in slow motion. Lucius Malfoy was separated from his head in a burst of red color. Peter Pettigrew met his end when Harry's talon punctured his chest deflating his lungs and opening his heart in one vicious stroke. One by one he killed them without any thought or hesitancy. All of them died gruesome deaths until he caught Draco cowering before him. Something made him stop when he saw Draco's terrified face…..
End Flashback
He turned and looked at his friends, and then down at the carnage. The silence in the room was deafening. His thoughts wandered. Today had not been a good day. They were found and caught by snatchers less than an hour ago and brought here to beg for their lives along with a goblin named Griphook and their schoolmate Dean Thomas. Their lives were literally held in the hands of these murdering death eaters. But then this happened.
After what seemed like an eternity, but was really only a minute or so Ron hesitantly stepped forward.
"Merlin, is that really you Harry?" Ron gasped out as he bravely moved up to him, jaw hanging to the floor.
Harry nodded.
"You're a griffin Harry, a bloody big one too. You're ….amazing. Wow! Amazing! …But do you think maybe you can change back soon? You-know-who will be here any minute."
Harry focused as hard as he could but nothing happened. He looked to Hermione with desperate eyes.
"Maybe you should think about what it feels like to be you. You know like how you feel everyday with us. Picture yourself standing there as just you."
That made sense. He concentrated on being 'just Harry'. He thought about how he feels just after a shower and he's gotten dressed and looking in the mirror trying to fix his unruly hair. Mentally he sort of stared at himself in the mirror. After a bit the room got bigger and everything turned very fuzzy. Harry took off his glasses and everything came into sharp focus just as it had a few minutes earlier. He put his glasses back on and everything was fuzzy again. With a shrug he took off his glasses and slipped them into his pocket. That would be just one other thing to ask Hermione about and explore later.
"Harry you saved us. You…are you ok? Hermione stammered out.
Harry just shrugged. He was pretty numb. Nothing seemed all that pressing, even the arrival of Voldemort. Just then a whimper from nearby broke him out of his melancholy. He gestured to his bitter rival. "Leave now Malfoy. If you're here when your master arrives, he'll kill you. Save yourself and use the chance to decide what you really want in life. It's your choice now."
The new head of the Malfoy family stood slowly, watching Harry the whole time. "Leave your wand." With a defeated sigh Malfoy set his wand on the ground and ran out of the room. It would be the last time any of them ever saw Draco Malfoy, not that any of them were particularly broken up about it though.
Harry picked up Draco's wand and said "lumos". The wand lit brightly. Satisfied he muttered "nox" and turned to his closest friends. "We have to leave now!" "Dobby!" Pop. "Kreacher." Pop.
Two house elves stood at his feet expectantly. "What does Master Harry request?" croaked Kreacher. "Go to the dungeon and get Dean, Griphook and any others who are being held there and take them to….
"Shell Cottage" Ron offered. "It's well protected."
"Do it" Harry said. "We'll follow you there soon." Both elves disappeared with a soft pop. Ron picked up the sword of Gryffindor from the floor where the remains of Bellatrix were laid out gruesomely. At the same time Harry and Hermione cast 'incendio' spells at curtains, tables and walls. Less than a minute later they grabbed hands and apparated to Shell Cottage leaving Malfoy Manor and it's deceased occupants to burn.
